Foes of Apartheid Not Satisfied by Beverly Hills Vote

The Beverly Hills City Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning apartheid but took no action to oust the South African consulate from the city despite the demands of protesters whose jeers drowned out the voting.

One group said it plans to picket Rodeo Drive stores Saturday to pressure the council for stronger action. The protesters also said they will return to future council meetings.

“They (the demonstrators) are going to come back, but that’s all the City Council will do,” Mayor Edward I. Brown said.

The resolution said the racial policies of the South African are “unconscionable, abhorrent and inhuman” and called on the Pretoria government to grant equal rights and protection to all people under its jurisdiction.

It was adopted after a series of meetings at which members of anti-apartheid groups asked the city to expel the consulate, which is in an office building on Wilshire Boulevard.

Told that the city lacked the legal authority to do so, the demonstrators suggested several symbolic actions, such as renaming a street or a park to honor Nelson Mandela, the imprisoned leader of the African National Congress.

Could Set Precedent

But Brown said that would be inappropriate. “I’m not interested in renaming a street or an alley,” he said. “If we do that, it will set a precedent for every concern and it will be inviting every concern to come forward.”

Councilwoman Charlotte Spadaro, however, said she was willing to look into the possibility of renaming a street or public building.

Chris Liebenberg, a spokesman for the consulate, said there will be no comment on the City Council’s action.

“It’s internal American business,” he said. “We are guests to this country, so it’s up to them to decide if we’re going to stay here or not.”

The vote came after 11 members of the audience were given three minutes each to speak on the issue. About 30 demonstrators attended the session, 50 less than when the issue first came up two weeks ago.

Olivia Mercier, a member of the Free South Africa movement, pointed out that the city attorney’s opinion on the consulate issue said that expulsion proceedings could only be initiated against dangerous enterprises, such as explosives factories.

“The South African consulate in your community is in fact an explosives factory, because every time I see it, I feel rage that in this liberal community you could sit by and take no action,” she said.

Elected officials praised the demonstrators’ eloquence, but the protesters called the comments condescending and the council’s action mean-spirited.

“We made it clear that there are 14 things to do if they choose to do more,” said Sandra Jackson, a representative of Unity in Action, an anti-apartheid group. “It’s not as though we asked them to pull a rabbit out of a hat.”

Other Actions

Some of the alternatives could include giving keys to the city to Mandela and other African National Congress leaders or declaring an economic and cultural boycott of South Africa, according to Ron Wilkins, a representative of Unity in Action.

Zakhele Cenge, local representative of the African National Congress, said picketing of the elegant stores along Rodeo Drive will begin at noon Saturday, a prime time for Christmas shopping.

“This will give the people a chance to hear about the legal capabilities for this council to evict the consulate from its boundaries,” Cenge said.

He said the resolution was “hollow rhetoric, a slap in the face. They completely disregarded the suggestions we gave them. These are symbolic actions to show that evil is being done, and to show they are on the side of the victim.”

The council also discussed a letter from George Slaff, a former mayor, who proposed that Beverly Hills adopt a set of rules--known as the Sullivan principles--for dealing with South Africa.

The Sullivan principles attempt to channel investment in South Africa into companies with progressive hiring and promotion policies, but city officials noted that Beverly Hills is banned by the state government code from investing in private companies. It may invest in government securities.

Brown said it would be virtually impossible to determine whether the city’s deposits with financial institutions are indirectly invested in South Africa.

Members of the audience interrupted the discussion to assert that the Sullivan principles affect less than 1% of the South African population.

No action was taken on Slaff’s letter, although members of the council said they were willing to have city staffers look into his recommendations.

When the roll was called on the anti-apartheid resolution, members of the audience called out to demand reconsideration of their suggestions for taking farther-reaching symbolic action.

“I’m sorry if you’re not satisfied. I don’t know if you’ll ever be satisfied,” Brown said.